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Replies to: NROTC Scholarship

The answer is "it depends". What is your major going to be? There is a new Navy rule this year that 85% of the scholarships awarded have to be in Technical majors like Engineering. If you are a History or Math major you are at a big disadvantage. And you can't say you are an Engineering major, get the scholarship, and then change to a non-technical major. Your scholarship will get pulled.

Your GPA and SAT scores are low for this scholarship but it is still possible. My son was 3.5 unweighted with the max # of AP and Honors courses. His SAT was 1370 M+V and 30 ACT.

The other biggies are sports and leadership ECs. You get points for playing sports, more for being a captain or an officer in student gov't or a club. Hopefully you put your app in a couple of months ago - if not you are way late.

Good luck. Remember that this is NOT a way to pay for school - you need to want to have a career as a Naval officer. The scholarship is just a benefit. The demands of NROTC are high during the school year. Lots of time and extra classes. But if you want to be a non-restricted line officer it is a great deal. Keep in mind if you don't get the scholarship you can still join NROTC and compete for a 2 or 3 year scholarship. It is based on your grades, how you perform in the unit, and needs of the Navy. It is called "College Program". There are about 20 4C Midshipmen in my son's unit and I think only 2 (including him) are on scholarship. We were told that last year there were 6000+ applicants and about 500 4-year scholarship awards to HS Seniors.

My S got a NROTC scholarship 4 years ago. He had a 1400 SAT and 4.6 gpa (weighted), top ten class rank.
He played 2 years of JV football (capt. soph. yr) and was on the wrestling team as a freshman but did not letter. He did not have a lot of sch. related EC's (NHS plus a few other clubs) but did work a lot of hours (in a resposible position) at a year round part-time job.
S's NROTC class started out with 27 4C's, all but three were on scholarships. Now with one semester left until graduation/commissioning, there on are 12 left.

I am currently a 2nd Class midshipman doing NROTC and absolutely love it. I actually had the same exact GPA and SAT score as you in high school. I wanted to do NROTC very badly and checked on the status of it almost every day. When I interviewed, my interviewer said I had a good chance so my hopes were up. Unfortunately i did not get the scholarship and I was devastated. However, not getting a scholarship will not prevent you from joining the NROTC program. I joined before college started as a college programmer and as long as you get good grades your freshman year and a passing PT score you'll eventually get on scholarship and might even get backpaid by the military as I did.

That being said, I do not know if you will get the scholarship or not. It changes year to year since they have different amounts of slots. Academics is certainly a high priority. If you do get the scholarship that would be great. If you don't get the scholarship don't be surprised, but don't let it get to you. I hope this helps and if you have any specific questions in NROTC schools or our activities feel free to reply or message me.

Does anyone know what job slots are available to ROTC guys when they graduate? I know the Academy kids get the first dibs, especially the ones who graduate with a high class rank. How hard would it be to go to flight school from ROTC?

The Academy grads have no advantage over NROTC grads for choice of billets. It is based in a scoring system that takes into account grades, performance in your unit, PT scores, CO eval, and needs of the Navy.

Basically the choice is Subs, Surface Warfare, Aviation, Special Warfare.

Iron Maiden is right. NROTC midshipmen have an equal shot at available slots.

S's senior NROTC class has only twelve midshipmen that will graduate in May. Of those twelve, two got flight sch. slots, two went subs, two got special warfare slots (EOD very competitive) and the rest went swo.

there is no magic formula to decide who recieves scholarship and who doesn't. i was 9th in my graduating high school class, 27 ACT, varsity softball and cheerleading, worked part-time, 500+ volunteer hours, and plenty of leadership positions in clubs. i was awarded a navy option scholarship to penn state as a biochemistry major. so depending on your major, what the selection board wants at that time, and the strength of your app, you could be chosen, or not. i wouldn't sweat it, and i'd keep a contingency plan; just in case. hope you get the scholarship, and good luck!

Hi,
I just won the scholarship to Villanova 2 days ago. Im graduating high school in 2010, and my stats are as follows.

3.3000 Cum through junior year. 1100 SAT's M+V

I am a 3rd degree black belt, varisty cross country runner, pilot, and NJROTC Commanding officer. I had a perfect interview(the officer told me later on), I have a full set of leadership traits. 2 very good teacher recomendations, All honors math and science, no AP. Community serivice with my jrotc unit and i taught martial arts volunterily to children, and did church groundskeeping. I had my NJROTC teacher who is 20 years retired from he USMC and a Lt. Col write me a recomendation. It was very good, and the board likes to see high ranking military officer recomendations. try to find an officer in ur area.

I have grades that are a little above average, terrible combined SATs, four good years of LEADERSHIP, very good extra curricular activites and a perfect interview. Thats what makes a scholarship. if something is slacking(grades in my case) you must compensate(leadership and extracurriulars).

I did get my first choice. APPLY ASAP. very early. have em submitted by end of july or earlier. THIS IS A MUST.

I applied for a NROTC scholarship in early June of 2009 (and had everything turned in by Early August) for the academic year Fall 2010.
It is now Late December and I was hoping to hear something about the scholarship, which has brought me to these forums. Are these stats in the ballpark of what a scholarship recipient would have?
SAT: 1680 (590 Math/570 Eng)
ACT: 28 (27 Math/31 Eng)
GPA: 3.899 (Unweighted) Mostly regular classes, with an honors english course freshman year...
I feel like I had a good interview, and the officer told me he felt like I was very qualified and he would write a good recommendation.
Sports: Baseball (grade 9) and Varsity Tennis (Grade 11, 12)

Another question I had was if this was a big year for applications...
Thanks for any information anyone can provide...

Your SATs are a little low for this scholarship and I did not see you list any leadership positions. That will hurt you. But it is in the ballpark. And yes, there are a lot more applicants this year, especially if you are not an engineering major.

I'm planning to enroll NROTC at University of Washington or Oregon State University.
1st Choice: Aeronautical Engineering at University of Washington.
2nd Choice: Nuclear Engineering at Oregon State University.
I had my interview with the Chief Petty Officer (E-7) at the Navy local recruiting office. He gave his original letter of recommendation to me before he faxed it. I got a 5/5 overall report (academic, leadership, sports, etc),that is the maximum any NROTC candidate can receive from the interviewer.
I would think my application is in this January selection board.
3.78 Unweighted GPA, 90% of my classes are honors and AP courses.If It is weighted, I would estimate it'll be around 4.6.
Just saw my ACT from their website.
Math: 25, Reading: 23, Science: 22, English:20 ( I personally think those are horrible number in all category, but I can't retake it again since this is the December ACT, so If I receive the scholarship, it would be a "miracle" from my perspective).
Speak, Write and Read Vietnamese fluently.
Honors Roll for 4 years.
National Honor Society.
Captain Soccer Team for 2 years.
Varsity Football.
Varsity Track & Field.
Black Belt Vietnamese Martial Art.
Enroll in Army JROTC for 4 years (position doesn't matter), all they care is early interest in the military.
Lots of community service hours, especially in Salvation Army and Meals on Wheel (which I take pride doing the best I can to provide healthy meals to low-income family and seniors).
Outstanding letters of recommendation from my councilor, AP Calculus teacher/National Honor Society and Football Coach. All are in top 10% and top 1%.
If one is in JROTC, it is CRITICAL to have your commander/ Senior Army Instructor's letter of recommendation, because they want to know how well one do in leadership class. Mine got all top 1%, except involvement in JROTC activities, which I got top 10%. My JROTC SAI is West Point grad, his recommendation alone is powerful, from the NROTC regional coordinator in Portland , Oregon.
But this one would give me a big advantage over the majority of the applicant. I'm a naturalized citizen and have been here a little more than 4 years, for all the of teacher that know me, they are shocked of how well I do in class compare to my peers, especially in AP classes.
My main reason to go to NROTC is to serve my country, to protect and defend America from her enemies. I will unquestionably put my life to preserve the "American dreams" for others, just like me today. The interview asked me how will I treat him if I'm his commanding officer, I gave him my honest reponse: " I will treat you and other under my command as of all of you are my biological brothers, with love, respect, dignity and honor".
What do you guys think of my statistics and commitment to the Navy?
Please give me your honest advices.

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